Surrounding Area

The City of Saskatoon is surrounded by 4 areas referred to as North West, North East, South West, and South East. Each area is comprised of small towns, subdivisions, acreages, and farms each with their own unique real estate opportunities. Over the past 5 years we have seen significant growth in some of the surrounding communities which have made some of these towns in close proximity to Saskatoon very attractive to home buyers. When considering buying a new home in Saskatoon or the surrounding area it is important to consider what your short term and long term needs are. I have worked with many clients that initially wanted to live in Saskatoon but after expanding our search found the home and community of their dreams just a short commute outside the city.

North West

The North West area outside of Saskatoon is one of the more popular areas as there an abundance of towns, subdivisions, acreages and farms within a short 15 to 20 minute drive of the city. Warman and Martensville are both located in this area and are two of the largest and fastest growing communities around Saskatoon. Both locations have an abundance of new construction and are growing at a rapid pace which provides excellent real estate opportunities outside of Saskatoon. Many of the surrounding towns have great schools and amenities that allow for small town living to be very convenient without having the fast pace of the city.

The North West area provides very easy access to some of Saskatchewan’s best lakes and national parks in the north. Most towns are within minutes to Highway 11 which is the main highway to Prince Albert. Aside from the larger towns and the easy access to the lakes, there are a large number of smaller towns, and acreages. Cathedral Bluffs is one of the larger high end subdivisions just outside of the city with many of the acreage lots situated right on the South Saskatchewan River. Some of the other smaller towns include Asquith, Borden, Hague, Hepburn, Herschel, Laird, Radisson, Rosthern, and Waldheim.

Asquith and Hepburn are both communities that we see people commute to the city but they aren’t as convenient as the more popular ones and the extra distance is often too much for the average person commuting to Saskatoon. Asquith to me should be in the South West quadrant as it is just north of Highway 14. Rosthern is about halfway between Saskatoon and Prince Albert so we don’t often find people commuting into Saskatoon from Rosthern on a daily basis.

Waldheim, Borden, Hague, Radisson are within an hour of Saskatoon, Laird and Duck Lake over an hour to Saskatoon, and Herschel is furthest from Saskatoon-approximately 2 hours.

Below is a list of all of the towns in the north west. The highlighted areas are some of the more popular towns in the Saskatoon North West real estate area that are under a 20 minute commute to Saskatoon if you work in the city or to just take advantage of the amenities Saskatoon has to offer.

North East

The North East area outside of Saskatoon doesn’t have as many communities as the North West and is less popular for people looking for a good commuting town around Saskatoon.

Out of these communities Aberdeen is the closest and, as of the 2006 census, only home to 527 residents. It is under 25 minutes to commute to Aberdeen from the edge of the city which is why this may be one of the up and coming communities as house prices tend to be less than in the North West, but with the small size and lack of amenities you would really have to love the small town feel to decide to live in Aberdeen. Highway 41 can be an alternate route to Prince Albert but with the twinning of Highway 11 taking place there will likely be less people using this route to reach the Northern Saskatchewan Lakes.

Wakaw is about half way between Saskatoon and Prince Albert therefore too far to commute. Vonda is at least a 30 minute drive to the City on Highway 40 to Aberdeen and then East on Highway 27 and offers a French language school but if parents prefer to have their children go to school in English they can go to the neighbouring town of Aberdeen.

St. Denis and Vonda are about a 30 minute drive off Highway 5 and Highway 41 respectively. Not many people commute from these small communities around Saskatoon.

South West

The South West part of Saskatoon branches off from Highway 14 and Highway 7.

Delisle is a town that is trying to attract more people from Saskatoon however with a 30 minute or more commute to the City of Saskatoon (and dealing with traffic inside of the city) it may not be very practical for the average commuter.

Elrose and Rosetown are much too far to commute to the city.

Grandora is a reasonable distance to the city on Highway 14 but is considered a Hamlet therefore not much to offer here.

Pike Lake is found off of Highway 60 and is still about a 30 minute commute into the city. Pike Lake is also a Provincial Park which is a popular destination for school trips and weekend campers. The town is in a beautiful location.

Vanscoy has under 500 people but given its proximity to the Potash Mine we may see it grow more in the future. With approximately 20 minutes on Highway 7 from the edge of the city to Vanscoy there are many people who make the commute to Saskatoon on a daily basis.

South East

There are many communities found South East of Saskatoon. Highway 16 and Highway 11 are the two major highways that service many of these communities therefore the commutes are usually relatively easy on these double lane highways.

Many of these communities are much too far to commute to Saskatoon therefore I will not be elaborating on them. Over an hour are: Elbow, Kenaston, Outlook, Young, and Watrous therefore we rarely see people commuting to Saskatoon on a daily basis from these communities.

Clavet is probably one of the closest towns from which people can easily commute on a daily basis as it is within a 10 minute drive of the city limits on the Yellowhead Highway.

A bit further than Clavet but still within an hour are: Allan, Bradwell, Beaver Creek, Blucher, Colonsay, Elstow, Dundurn and Hanley. Of these Allan and Colonsay are popular mining towns that people often commute to from Saskatoon for work at Potash Corp so they are popular places to live for families who have members who work at the mines. They are both small communities of under 700 people with Allan being the larger of the two. Many of the workers for Potash Corp in Saskatoon prefer to commute to work from Saskatoon which is the opposite of what we usually see. Allan can be accessed from Highway 16.

Bradwell , Beaver Creek, Blucher and Elstow are more like a Hamlets and Hanley is further than what most people will drive on a daily basis while Dundurn is within a 30 minute drive to Saskatoon and is home to Camp Dundurn which is a military base therefore we often see Canadian Armed Forces members living in Dundurn and even Hanley.

Bradwell , Beaver Creek, Blucher and Elstow are more like a Hamlets and Hanley is further than what most people will drive on a daily basis while Dundurn is within a 30 minute drive to Saskatoon and is home to Camp Dundurn which is a military base therefore we often see Canadian Armed Forces members living in Dundurn and even Hanley.

On Blackstrap Lake you will find Blackstrap Shields and Blackstrap Thode. Both are gaining in popularity as they are just off of Highway 11 which is the double lane highway to Regina. Here you can find lake front lots for sale around Saskatoon which means you can commute if you choose.

Sunset Estates is a community that is only approximately 10 minutes from the City which consists of only mobile homes. It is a very affordable community and popular for first time buyers in Saskatoon on a budget as well as retirees.